A county mayor in South Korea has sparked widespread controversy after suggesting that women from Sri Lanka and Vietnam be “imported” as brides to address population decline in rural areas, prompting criticism over gender insensitivity and human rights concerns and leading to a public apology.
The remarks were made on February 4 during a live-broadcast “Town Hall Meeting on the Go” held at the Haenam Cultural Arts Center in South Jeolla Province, where officials were discussing the proposed administrative integration of Gwangju City and South Jeolla Province. Jindo County Mayor Kim Hee-soo, speaking on the challenges faced by regions experiencing population decline, said that drastic legislative measures were needed to prevent local extinction.
Mayor Kim noted that nearly 20 percent of South Korea’s 89 population-declining regions are located in South Jeolla Province. He criticized successive governments, scholars, and lawmakers for failing to act decisively despite warnings about demographic decline since the early 2000s, arguing that local governments lack the capacity to implement self-rescue strategies under current conditions.
During his remarks, Mayor Kim proposed that the planned administrative integration could be used as a basis to legislate population countermeasures. He then suggested that, if other efforts failed, young women from Sri Lanka or Vietnam could be brought in to marry unmarried rural men as a way to sustain local communities, adding that industries cannot survive without people. His comment triggered laughter among some attendees but also immediate visible discomfort.
Gwangju Mayor Kang Gi-jung, who was present at the event, responded by waving his hands in rejection before criticizing the idea. He said that although South Korea enacted its first Low Birthrate and Aging Society Basic Act in 2004, decades of investment had yielded limited results. While acknowledging the need for diverse solutions, he stressed that encouraging marriages through the importation of foreign women was misguided. According to Mayor Kang, sustainable population growth depends on developing regional industries that create stable livelihoods.
As public reaction grew, criticism extended beyond policy disagreement to the language used by Mayor Kim. Attendees and commentators objected to the framing of foreign women as “imports” and to the specific naming of countries, arguing that such expressions lacked multicultural awareness and gender sensitivity. Some said the remarks reduced foreigners to tools for labor or marriage rather than recognizing them as individuals with dignity and rights.
The controversy quickly spread online and in local media, intensifying pressure on the Jindo County mayor to clarify his position. In response, Mayor Kim issued a formal apology, acknowledging that his wording was inappropriate and caused discomfort. He said his intention had been to highlight the severe labor shortages in rural areas and the challenges faced by unmarried rural men, but admitted that the term “import” was a serious mistake.
Mayor Kim stated that his remarks were not intended to demean or objectify women from any country and emphasized that marriage migrant women and immigrants should be respected as equal members of society. He said his original intent was to underline the need for institutional support to ensure the stable settlement and community integration of immigrants, rather than to promote discriminatory views.
Concluding his apology, Mayor Kim pledged to use more careful and accurate language when addressing sensitive issues such as population decline, multiculturalism, and migration. He also said he would strengthen internal communication and oversight within the county administration to prevent similar incidents in the future, offering a renewed apology to those who were hurt or offended by his remarks.
